Business travelers

A bright spot is the gradual return of business travel and events at the PPLCenter or Miller Symphony Hall.

“We’re just seeing the beginning of the business traveler starting to come back since COVID,” Castelluccio said. “Leisure travel on the weekends has been much better.”

And it’s not just overnight customers — business meetings, weddings and banquets are also being booked, according to Castelluccio.

“We’re booking a lot of meetings going forward,” Castelluccio said. “We have about 25,000 square feet of meeting space and have had inquiries of different sizes. This past winter, we did a bunch of parties, which were very successful. And we’ve also noticed that everyone that’s coming here for an event, or even staying in rooms, is coming back to see us again.”

Bree Nidds, chief operating officer for Discover Lehigh Valley, said the hotel has become part of the downtown Allentown experience.

“The Americus not only has hotel rooms, but they have meeting space so they can host corporate events, weddings, social events, but oftentimes visitors don’t necessarily come to a place to stay in the hotel,” she said. “They come to a place to experience something. If it’s a Phantoms game or if it’s a concert, you have Miller Symphony Hall down there as well for some music action or, you know, some folks just there’s some foodies out there and they just want to come to a place and experience the food and libations scene.

“It’s great to have a hotel right there in close proximity to where they’re going to experience those things,” Nidds said.

One organization that’s taking advantage of the meeting space is the Allentown Parking Authority which had been looking for a bigger venue after seeing a rise in attendance at its regular board meetings, which are held on every fourth Wednesday each month. A forum is also scheduled for the Americus from 5 to 8 p.m. on March 21.